How to raise IT costs—did he really write that?

Like anyone needs my advice as to how to do that. Go ahead, have at it. Go shopping. Shop to you drop. How much do you need? Suppose we open the coffers. How much; another million? Ten Million? Twenty-five, fifty? $100,000,000? This is a one-time offer, so make sure you ask for everything you need

What if I told you this money is available provided you correctly answer a few basic questions. Reasonable? I’d hope so for a hundred million dollars.

1. What will you do with the money that you haven’t already done?

2. Has anyone else every done that?

3. If yes, did it work for them?

4. If no, why not, and what makes you think it will work for you?

5. Will these additional funds;

5a. Decrease calls per customer per year by 50%?

5b. Raise first call resolution above 95%?

5c. Raise customer satisfaction above 95%

5d. Decrease repeat calls to less than 2%

6. What is your mission?

7. Why isn’t your mission the KPIs listed in question 4?

8. Are other firms spending the amount you are requesting?

9. Did that amount of funding allow them to meet the criteria specified in question 5?

10. If no, what makes you think you can do it?

If your CFO asked these questions, would you think them reasonable? If not, prepare 3 envelopes (see Google)

New wireless headphones for CSRs-$50. New plasma monitors-$1,200. Upgrade the coffee to Starbucks-$5. Happy customers—Priceless.